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P r o m o t e d C o n t e n t own giving fund within Mackenzie's Strategic Charitable Giving Foundation, which donors can name themselves (for example, the "Carson Family Charitable Giving Fund"). Subsequent contributions of at least $5,000 can be made at the donor's convenience. Donations can be made in the form of cash, securities, life insurance policies with a cash surrender value, RRSPs, RIFs and real estate. Donors receive a tax receipt for their donations immediately, and choose which of Mackenzie's mutual funds (balanced and income funds) in which to invest their donation. "The Canada Revenue Agency looks for approximately a 3.5 per cent rate of return every year, so we try to do better than that," says Bezaire. "Fund owners can choose to grant between four to eight per cent of their fund value each year, and our target rate of return is always greater than that." Granting is done quarterly or annually, according to the donor's preference. "We contact the donor to say, 'This is how much money you'll be granting out, how would you like it allocated?' We do all the statements, we do the reporting and we send out the grants." Donors can designate grants to as many CRA-sanctioned charities as they'd like, and can change up their chosen organizations every year if they so choose. One of the particular beneits of this product is that donors can work with their own independent inancial adviser to set up their donor-advised fund with Mackenzie, drawing on their adviser's knowledge of their personal tax situation to make the most of their giving plan, says Bezaire. Mackenzie Investments currently has $131 million in assets under management in its Strategic Charitable Giving Foundation, and Bezaire sees the donor- advised market taking off. "It's already big in the U.S., and it's just starting to get on its feet here in Canada," says Bezaire. She cites baby boomers' preference of hands-on control over their own affairs as one reason, as well as the flexibility it offers in tax and estate planning. Plus, notes Bezaire, "it not only simpliies charitable giving, but it encourages people to think more carefully about why they're making their donations, and to be more strategic about how and when they donate. Donor-advised funds also offer the advantage of naming a successor donor, so that children and grandchildren can take up the torch down the road. "I think that planning your strategic philanthropy and your charitable giving can become a whole-family event, with the next generation working with the current generation," says Bezaire. "It's a really good way to work together on something that offers such a great return to the community, and the family foundation becomes a legacy that lasts for years and years." This promotional feature was prepared by BCBusiness magazine's Special Advertising Features Dept. Writer: Tiffany Sloan. For more information contact VP of sales & operations David Comuzzi at 6042997311. Email: dcomuzzi@canadawide.com